Kuffner ridge
A night in a perched bivouac and a high ridge brushing the wild Italian side of Mont Blanc.
With Stacha, Claire, Aude, Alex, Louis & Marco.
Taking a moment, after a snow-dusted, windy night: an infinite silence freezes an untracked Col du Midi, like the first morning of the world.
Time beats slowly, the rays blaze with a warmth worn thin by the altitude, so we draw our precious degrees from a few sips of hot tea.
Instead of a rugged granite climb, today we head for the Fourche bivouac hut, clinging to a sharp, elegant frontier: the Kuffner ridge.
3am, and our hands are already numb from the powdery snow drowning the start of the ascent. The smiling eye of a half-moon hints at the pale vastness of the Brenva side of Mont Blanc. Three fireflies are climbing the Boivin-Vallençant route in the distance.
Then the snow gains cohesion and progress becomes very pleasant. As we approach the Androsace, the discreet dawn suddenly bursts into a dazzling sunrise that floods these sleeping giants.
Coming out on the summit ridge, the strong wind and doubtful snow conditions push us to go straight down without the summit, to join the track of the Tacul normal route.
One last night in these high places, and we treat ourselves to the cherry on this meringue cake with a nice bit of climbing on the Aiguille du Midi.
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